A decade into the experiment of self-administered business improvement districts, three of the five property-based groups up for renewal this year are encountering problems ranging from charges if mismanagement to grousing over services.

Monday, April 21

Memory products maker Kingston Technology Co. is shifting more work to its year-old assembly plant in China, part of a quietly unfolding trend of Orange County memory products makers moving work to Asia.

L.A. County median home prices rose once again in March to $290,000, but the number of sales fell for the second consecutive month, according to preliminary estimates from DataQuick Information Systems.

Already reeling from revenue shortfalls, increased costs and greater demand for social services, local governments throughout L.A. County are being forced to pay out millions of dollars to shore up unsteady pension plans.

Corporate officers and directors, increasingly subject to claims from employees alleging breaches of fiduciary duty, were handed a victory when a three-judge panel in Los Angeles extended them further protections in wage/hour litigation.

The people-watching and cool ocean breezes enjoyed by the street-side patrons of Santa Monica's Trastevere restaurant belie a behind-the-scenes effort by the property's landlord to search for a new tenant despite a city moratorium prohibiting conversion

While the Chargers are in talks with the city of San Diego for a replacement to aging Qualcomm Stadium, they are reaching out to Orange County and other Southern California areas to grow their fan base.

Monday, April 14

When Rod Bourgeois, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., released a probing report on Computer Sciences Corp., he was flooded with negative comments from outraged clients who owned the stock.

Independent public relations firms saw revenues decline by 7 percent last year, as the recession and ongoing uncertainty in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks led to a pullback in corporate spending.

The latest piece in a two-year effort to remake the Los Angeles Times' news pages will debut this week with the introduction of a Home section that covers topics ranging from architecture to gardening.

United Online Inc. believes it has an answer for its thrifty Internet service customers who crave faster downloads but don't want to pay the price of broadband. The problem: Its competitors have come up with similar plans.

Monday, April 7

Dealmaking in Los Angeles hasn't dried up completely but the number of first quarter mergers and acquisitions has dropped sharply from the like period a year ago and the total value of deals has plummeted

The Los Angeles Business Journal has won an overall excellence award for business weeklies by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and was also recognized for its coverage of Global Crossing Ltd.

L.A. City Councilman Dennis P. Zine has formed an advisory committee to keep Boeing Co.'s Rocketdyne division in the San Fernando Valley as the aerospace company receives overtures from Alabama officials to move to their state.

INVESTMENT & FINANCE: When telecommunications giant SBC Communications Inc. last week dropped out of the bidding for Hughes Electronics Corp., apparently leaving News Corp. as the last company standing, the market cheered the news by boosting Hughes' stoc

A group of Westside businesses and hotel operators trying to establish an alternative structure to the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau has gained support in the San Fernando Valley and is stepping up its lobbying efforts at City Hall.